Yes to the original!! Reaction to last post

Since last post by Owen I felt the need to say something about this remaking thing... or shall we say make it more accessible for people who cannot be arsed to read the subtitles. Well guess what I really love films in their original language, and I will spend time and read the subtitles. In English, that is not my first language. I just feel sorry for people who won't go see film because it is not in the language that they can understand and too lazy to read subtitles. 

For me Lisbeth always will be Noomi Rapace... and not that scary looking girl with no eyebrows. Talking about over styling. I have never seen the US version and I will never will. 

I always try to watch films in their original language. Maybe it is because I grew up in the country where everything was dobbed and sometimes rather badly.

Watch a film in the original language, give it a try.

New Oldboy...First Impressions

It's here!...

So above is the first red band trailer for the US remake of the Park Chan-wook's South Korean revenge thriller masterpiece Oldboy. The first post I ever did on this blog was about the original Oldboy because when I thought about what my favourite film was it jumped straight into my mind. In my eyes it is a perfect film which I can watch over and over and my enjoyment never diminishes.

I really can't praise it enough and that is why I have always been worried about what the inevitable American remake would do to my favourite movie. I know that I will always have my original but the US remake will be the version that the majority of my friends and movie going public will see and I just hope that it will do justice to the original.

You see this is an example of a typical conversation goes when I suggest watching Oldboy...

Me - 'Hey you fancy watching Oldboy it's amazing!'
Friend - 'Not heard of it what is it?'
Me - 'It's a South Korean revenge thriller by Park Chan-wook starring Choi min-sik'
Friend - 'Ummm I don't really do subtitles shall we watch something else'

But imagine that conversation with the remake...

Me - 'Hey you fancy watching Oldboy it's amazing!'
Friend - 'Not heard of it what is it?'
Me - 'It's a revenge thriller by Spike Lee starring Josh Brolin'
Friend - 'Oooo sounds good go on then'

This is why I want this remake to be good as it will hopefully act as a catalyst for people to discover the original and join me in realising it's brilliance. It was therefor with trepidation that I watched the above trailer and got my first glimpse of what Spike Lee had done with my beloved Oldboy.

First impression was that I like Josh Brolin as Oldboy. He is an actor who I have admired since  No Country for Old Men (he was pretty good in  The Goonies but for different reasons) Over the past few years there has been many actors linked with the role one of which was Will Smith! I remember that when I heard this I immediately wrote it off as Will Smith would never be in a film as dark and impactful as the original. I always toted Gary Oldman for the role but as time went by and he got older that became a pipe dream. But Josh Brolin is a worth candidate and his opening line in this trailer seems to invoke the Oldboy character.

In fact the start of the trailer is possibly the only part of the whole thing that feels like the original. The imprisonment of Oldboy is a key part of the plot but I did find the fact that his daughter is shown grown up in these scenes suggesting that the whole end of the original can't be in this remake disappointing. It looks as though the motivation for Oldboy in this version is to save his daughter and get revenge on his capture. The original Oldboy only had 'Why was I imprisioned' as motivation and is told if he doesn't find out why then someone will die.

The final scenes of the original were so impactful. They left you feeling like you had been punched in the stomach and they were what made sure that it stayed in my mind for weeks/years/decades afterwards. So if this has been taken out then straight away this isn't Oldboy. I can understand that the Hollywood machine is not a fan of churning out films that deal with darker themes but I hoped with Spike Lee at the helm he would stay true to the original. He may still for all I know but from this trailer it doesn't look good.

It appears that the hammer is going to stay as Oldboys weapon of choice which is a no brainer and I will wait with interest to see Spike Lee's take on the 'Hallway Hammer Fight Scene' of the original. A scene that I think is one of the greatest ever scenes committed to film (see my original post for more) If Lee can come even close to it then it will be brilliant!

It is going to be a very interesting experience watching this movie as I really can't see how it can match the original and I will find it very hard to not be critical of it as it is dealing with something that I love and feel protective of. I hope that I enjoy this but I live safe in the knowledge that if it does disappoint me then I can go home and watch the original Oldboy and I will instantly be cheered up. As I said earlier if all this remake does is act as a gateway for others to discover Park's masterpiece then it can't be a bad thing.

Written by Owen
While drinking Corona & eating Fudge

 

So it's been a while...

I have not posted in a while due to life and laziness getting in the way but worry not I have been watching films and I do have a few opinions on them. Some were good some were bad and some for a while held the place as my new favourite film. I had every intention of writing about them but it didn't happen so what I thought I'd do is a quick fire run down of the some of those films and what I thought about them.

Iron Man 3

I did a Quick Impression on this after I saw it but since then I have spoken to friends and heard their views on it so thought I'd add this...

So the second phase of Marvels all conquering franchise begins with Iron Man 3. I personally am worried that the Marvel films are going to get old fast and would personally of been happy if they had put the avengers lot on ice after the pinnacle that was Avengers and visited a few other lesser known characters. I mean Iron Man was not the all conquering character it has become since Robert Downey Jr took the role so it would be nice to see some other characters given the limelight. But we are told that this is all set for phase 3 so I will have to wait for Edger Wrights Ant Man movie...which I'm not sure I can.

In fact I think that Iron Man 2 is a great example of why I worry for the franchise as it was not a good movie and suffered as it was more a build up to the main event that was Avengers than a film in it's own right.

So after all this I have to say that what Shane Black has done with Iron Man 3 is exactly the opposite to my fears. I liked the fact that we got to explore the Tony Stark side of Iron Man and I know people who complained that there wasn't enough 'Iron Man' in this film to which I always answer 'who do you think Iron Man is?' you take Tony Stark out of the film and you have no Iron Man.

What I like about the Iron Man films and what has made it so popular is Robert Downey Jr. and his natural humour and charisma. So the more of that the better. Now the Quick Impression I wrote a while ago focuses more on the plot so you can read that to get the rest of my views....spoiler I kinda liked it but didn't love it.

The Purge

So The Purge...The film that stared at me from every phone box in Cardiff for months...the film from the guys that did Paranormal Activity (all be it only the money men)...It's got Ethan Hawke in it and Lena Heady this could be alright. Add in an kinda interesting concept this could be a decent horror.

That was my thoughts going into The Purge and after 30 mins of adverts and trailers and 20 mins of the film those thoughts were now...this concept has now been explained to me twice...I don't really like Hawke or Heady's characters...oh look Lou Carpenters daughter Lolly from Neighbours in it too...and she's playing an idiot!...this is going to be a shit horror.

One thing that is key in any home invasion horror is that you care about the characters and only the son of the family is in any way likable. The rest are just privileged morons who I wanted to die asap. The concept though interesting couldn't support a whole film and it just wasn't scary! Putting a mask on someone and getting them to look at the camera with their head tilted isn't scary if you want that person to get their hands on the people they are after. Plus the end was terrible!

I went to see this so you don't have to. Don't even watch it if your bored and you see it on NetFlix, keep searching and you will find something better I guarantee it.

Margin Call

Margin Call is set over one night during the financial crisis as a group of bankers meet to decide how to handle the impending collapse. It boasts a top cast including Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, and the mighty Kevin Spacey all of whom are brilliant. It felt very much like a play with no action violence just people talking and arguing as egos collide. 

The subject of the bank collapse was also fascinating to me and gave me an insight into what went on. At the time I didn't properly understand what the happened to cause the collapse but this movie did a great job of explaining it without at any point dumbing down the language which is testament to the script. Not great but enjoyable and very interesting plus I could watch Spacey and Irons butt heads all day long!

 

Star Trek Into Darkness

Earlier this year I put this in my Ones to Watch list ahead of Iron Man and Man of Steel. It was the big blockbuster that I was most looking forward to this summer and I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint.

J.J. Abrams is a man who knows how to make a big budget popcorn movie. This had great action set pieces and a fun and interesting plot that I thought flowed nicely. All the cast are likable and embody the spirit of the original show. I really like the relationship between Chris Pine's Kirk and Zachary Quinto's Spock which is natural and funny. These two are ably support by the likes of Simon Pegg and Zoe Saldana but all of these are overshadowed by the brilliant Benedict Cumberbatch who steals every shot he is in and even some that he's not in he's that good! 

Cumberbatch's character is is an enigma in that you are never sure whether to like him or fear him. I personally always came down on the like side. Evey time he is on screen whether it be taking out a Klingon patrol single handedly or delivering a moving monologue he shows that he really is a master of his craft. In fact it was the action scenes that were most pleasing because he has proven that he can act in Sherlock but those scenes showed that there is nothing that he can't do and I hope will mean that he can flourish in Hollywood bring his class with him.

So that's my gushing over Benedict over with all I can say is that if you want a fun and exciting Hollywood blockbuster then watch this. It does what so many other film tries by entertaining while maintaining a high standard in all departments and has a standout performance at it core. I look forward to seeing what Abrams does with Star Wars and if he can somehow find a place for Benedict that would be amazing! :D

Olympus Has Fallen

This film wanted to be Die Hard in the White house. This film wanted to be funny, wanted to be serious want to be tense and it failed at all of them for me. Like The Purge I didn't like any of the characters or care about them. The attack on the White House was a violent moment with innocent people getting gunned down in the street which was impactful but the problem after that was that all the jokes felt in bad taste. In the world we live in where terrorist attacks are a very real thing (this film was released a week after the Marathon bombings) the way that the President and his cabinet deal with the situation was distasteful.

The way that they are willing to hand South Korea to the North Korea just to save the President actually angered me. If Aaron Eckhart's President was the good man that we were meant to believe he was and whom we were meant to route for then he wouldn't have let this happen. I thought that Morgan Freeman was going to be the level headed character that would make the tough calls but he again happily gave into all the terrorist demands just to protect one man. If I have learnt anything from 24 it's that America does not negotiate with terrorists...except in this film!

The fact that Gerard Butler character was meant to have been out of the secret service for 2 years yet all his passwords still work in the White House made me shake my head with disbelief. It was just sloppy writing. Then there is the fact that he tortured a man and killed another whilst making jokes and that man, who minutes earlier had been ruthlessly slaughtering people in what must have been a well planned attack that took years of planning, gives up all the information he can because he was stabbed in his leg. The film can't deal with the themes that it did at the start and also make light of them.

Die hard worked because it was always John trying to save his wife, the stakes were personally high for him but were not on a world stage as this film is. This film is dealing with an event that would likely cause WW3 and because of that I didn't enjoy the humour. A perfect example of how the two themes didn't mix was at one point the President is standing surrounded by the dead services men who had given their lives to protect him and he makes a joke about the White House having great insurance. The film even took time to let you get to know some of the dead service men to know they had young families and this made the joke even more tasteless.

This film gets it all wrong for me. I really hated it. I could rant for hours and pick out many many flaws but I won't. I'm sure a lot of people enjoyed the action and liked it. I think that those people are wrong and would implore them to just go and watch the original Die Hard to see how it's done. To anyone who hasn't seen it then I say DON'T! JUST WATCH THE ORIGINAL DIE HARD!

Up

Lots of people have told me that I have to watch up, that the start is so sad and its such a wonderful film. I eventually was sat down by my friend Mel and I did watch it...sooo I thought that it was OK *waits for screams of disbelief from Disney fans* but hear me out.

Yes it was a bit of a sad start they couldn't have children and he never got to go to the waterfall with his wife this is definitely sad....but I looked at it like this. He met the love of his life when he was 10 and got to spend what must have been 60 years with that person which in my eyes makes him a very very lucky man. Yes in Disneyland this is a sad start but as someone who grew up on Studio Ghibli films this start was pretty happy.

I actually saw in the old man lead character the kind of old person I dread dealing with in work as he was just grumpy and angry at the world and he will drag others down to his level of happiness if possible. I didn't like him and in a film like this that is a problem.

I did however like the Dog and Bird combo and got a fair few laughs out of them. SQUIRREL! There were other moments that were good but not enough for me. It didn't live up to the high standards that peoples praise had made for it. But if others people love it then it must strike the right chord with them I guess. I just have no desire to see it again.

Stoker

I plan on doing a longer post about Stoker when I've watched it again on DVD/NetFlix so all I'm going to say now is simply this...

It's a Chan-wook Park film and it is by far the best film out of this list! :)

Written by Owen
While watching the Lion(Wales) destroy Australia in the 3rd test again.

"they eat garbage on principal" (The East)

So my new local cineworld did not show Much Ado About Nothing, shame. Well actually Cardiff did not show it either, very small release. Why can we have smaller films to be shown on big screen too?

Well The East is a smaller film, I think it was in the cinema only for a week or 2 weeks. I made all effort to go see it... I think you should too. 

Oh it was amazing! Made me think... 

I thought it was like eco terrorism... but it was not quiet. It was more of terrorism against the modern corporate world. And yeah all of use by dates are there not only to look after the consumer but more about the corporation to cover its own back. I suppose it was not news to me but how it was presented... was rather brutal and in your face kind of way. 

The "Gem" involving the medication was actually very scary thinking that might be true... 

Interesting plot, ending was bit strange think I need to watch it again, just to make sure I understood it correctly. 

It is amazing to know that there are people out there like that... live the same way... 

I felt like Dr Temperance Brenan (you know from Bones, not the books, that was a very normal) discovering another socio group.

Brit Marling was lovely main character, very intelligent. I do like the person who Sarah became in the end of the film. Ellen Page's Izzy omg! I loved her as usual, very bitter end, very sad and yet touching, shows however much we resent our parents they are still our parents.

And the men candy... All male characters are hot. Alexander Skarsgard is a master mind and leader of the east, and gets naked or almost naked twice. Always nice to see, however bizarre the scenes might be seen. Shiloh Fernandez with all his makeup and deep trauma... 

To conclude, the East is my new favorite film. 

Written by Daria while watching Mama Mia on TV

My new crush! Henry (I can fly and wear a cape) Cavill

It was promised to be a fun day. I was off to the gym, then cinema and then home to cook and tidy. And after the gym I got some pretty distressing news form home, actually very sad news... 

And after the almost 3 hours in the cinema I felt a bit better, less of a mess ... Henry helped a lot... and Chris Nolan.. and all the fast fighting and evil evil Micheal Shannon. Good action movie takes your mind of things.

To be honest I though I would watch it with hubby, but he didn't wanted to since apparently he does not like superman and I quote "He's a knob", well I did not read any comic books ever so I do not have anything against the man from Krypton. So I spent some time with Kryptonians and Earthlings:) 

To be honest I went to see Immortals purely for half nude men and sword fights and I went to see Sucker Punch for cute outfits... Zack Snyder did not impressed. Oh and Watchmen was soo boring, I guess there are split opinions on that, I did not like it, no amount of men candy can make this film ever shorter, must watch in again:)

Oh I also fell down in the shower in the gym. Well I almost fell down and I really hurt my leg like the same way when I fell down stairs at work and couldn't do the race the next day. Well anywho...

I did not know what to expect, yes Chris Nolan did his bit for the film, but still Sucker Punch, Watchmen and Immortals, I was prepared for 3 hours of boredom with some sexy men frown in. I was pleasantly surprised! I do actually think that Chris Nolan had something to do with it.

So the story as you know it, kid arrived to Earth... But I did enjoy the back story, Genreal Zod's uprising against the people who killed Krypton. truly admirable, but kind of f%^ked up at the same time. Oh and his mother played by Ayelet Zurer (I am not actually sure how to pronounce it) but her there crying when programming the space ship for her only son going for this scary journey.

Also Russel Crowe's presents through out the film for the dead guy is amazing, he's like everywhere and all the time!

Now, Diane Lane as Clake Kent's mother, that hot mama! Amazing! Kevin Costner as his very inspiring dad, oh god I was so sad when he died. But let's get to my main topic and how good his looks with no top on or with very tight suit on, Henry (I can fly and wear a cape) Cavill. These blue eyes are so touching, moving and exciting. He just stares at the camera and you feel it... it was just magical. Sad moments I felt really sad, and the 1st kiss with Lois Lane (got to say, sad name for such a hot lady like Amy Adams).

I mean yeah, she was called this in the original film, but come one, would you name your child Lois not? All I think now when I hear Lois is Lois Griffin from Family Guy. (Maybe it is Russian in me talking, and I do apologies if I offended anyone) 

Good story, great acting, amazing action scenes, fabulous first kiss, all the fight scenes. However... 

I loved the story. Loved the big evil general Zod. Loved fights scenes, they must look epic in 3D.

As you know I am a sucker for a good fight scene and sexy men in these fight scenes, so I am a little bit biased but I do think I might be watching it over and over again. It is not fast moving as Avengers but it is good. Cinematicly and aesthetically was amazing. Some camera work did give me a bit of the sea sick but I did enjoy the experience and I am willing to watch it again. In fact I might see it tomorrow again :D 

I love Henry Cavill and Chris Nolan! 

Oh and fiy I have a massive bruise on my leg....

Now... I do have one more thing though not enough shirtless shots of sexy man of steel...

And now I'm happy... 

Now the big question is was Man Of Steel my favorite film... I'd say so. Until something else.. Besides I have Empire magazine in my handbag and I have not read the review these lovely people put up of this film...